The Millennium Virus
by Samara13
Summary: A half year after Atem left Yugi for the spirit world, the Millennium Puzzle mysteriously returns to Yugi, but something dark is around it...
1. Chapter 1

"Yes, I think we've made it this time!"

Three men crawled into the just created tunnel. Finally after months of searching and getting through the thick rocks they had made their way into the tomb. Greedy they tried to push each other back to be the first one to get a glance of that they had searched for so eagerly. A pretty large, golden chest stood in the middle of the half destroyed room.

"Finally, the treasure of the Nameless Pharaoh is found again…" one of the men named Carl whispered.

Half a year ago there were rumors the items of the Pharaoh were found but those rumors changed. People than said the items were hidden again. And now they were the ones to find it again.

"This is going to make us famous!" Carl said.

"Forget famous, what about rich!" Another man named Arghus said.

"Let's take some pictures of it and leave this place." The third man named Uman said.

"Pictures, are you out of your mind?" Arghus said with a stern voice.

"These holy objects belong in a museum." Carl said.

Carl turned around to investigate the chest. Suddenly he heard a thud followed by another more low thud. He turned around to see one of his colleagues unconscious on the ground.

"What is going…"

But before he could finish his sentence, he too was hit by a rock and hit the ground.

"Sorry, but you have no idea what these are and what power they content." Uman whispered.

He kneeled down and opened the chest. Seven items shined in his face.

"Finally I've got the Millennium Items!"

Uman reached out to the Millennium Key but then…all seven started to disappear.

"What…no no noooo!"

He saw how they started to vague away. With panic in his eyes he tried to grab them, but his hands went straight through them. After a few seconds, they were gone.

"NOOOOO!"


	2. Chapter 2

"Come on Yugi, we're gonna get late!" Joey's voice sounded from down-stairs.

"I 'm coming!" Yugi yelled back from his room.

It wasn't common for Joey to want to get to school so eagerly but today was meatloaf day in the canteen, which was only once a month. Yugi threw the last few things in his schoolbag, hoisted it on his back and ran down-stairs.

"Finally!" Joey moaned.

Without greeting his friend, he walked straight to the front door.

"Bye grandpa!" Yugi said while following Joey on a pace.

"Have a nice day at school Yugi!" his grandpa called after him.

The sun shined on their faces and a sweet spring breeze flew into their faces. Halfway they met with Tristan and Tea.

"Joey, how come you're on time today?" Tea asked. "Tristan's on time too, what's going on?"

The two tall boys grinned at each other.

"Meatloaf day!" They screamed high fiving each other.

Tea smacked her hand palm to her forehead.

"Of course, I could have known…"

The four continued their way to school. They were only a corner away when someone blocked their way. It was a boy with an arrogant smirk on his face. He was almost as tall as Tristan and Joey.

"You're the famous Yugi Motou, right?" He asked with a high voice.

Yugi groaned.

"Yeah that's me."

"You are going to duel me, right." The boy said holding his duel disk up.

"Hey listen to me you arrogant squirt, Yugi decides for himself who he wants to duel with, and I don't think he wants to duel with you!" Joey said getting red headed.

"It's okay Joey, I'll duel him, it's been a while anyway." Yugi said stepping in front of his friend.

"Yeah you teach that brat a lesson Yugi!" Tristan said enthusiastic.

The duel didn't take long. With help of his Celtic Guardian and Gaia the Fierce Knight, it took Yugi five minutes to win.

"You're not so tough anymore, _right_?" Joey yelled at the fleeing boy.

"Come on, I don't want to get late." Tea said.

The four continued their way to school. They passed a television shop a few meter away from the school gate when Yugi stopped.

"What's the matter, see a good commercial?" Tristan asked.

"No…look."

The screen showed a dessert with some pyramids in the distance. The sky was almost black and there was a heavy storm raging. The voice of a journalist sounded.

_A half an hour after the typhoon started in Egypt, the unconscious bodies of two archeologists were found in the just discovered room in the tomb of the Nameless Pharaoh. The identities of the men are confirmed. The names of the British men are: Carl Greene and Arghus Walker. Both are well but cannot remember what happened inside the room inside the tomb._

"Nameless Pharaoh, is that...?" Tea asked.

"I think so." Yugi said.

At that moment, his phone rang. It was his grandfather.

"_Yugi, I think there's something you need to see…" _


	3. Chapter 3

Yugi ran all the way back. Unfortunately his friends were spotted by the school guards when they wanted to follow him. He threw the door of the game shop open and ran towards the living room.

"Grandpa, what's going on?" He asked with sweat running off his forehead.

"It's back Yugi." The old man said.

"What's back?"

"In your room."

Yugi shot his grandfather a confused look and ran up stairs. He opened the door to his room to find…the Millennium Puzzle on his desk.

_What…how could that…_

Yugi approached his desk carefully as if the puzzle could attack him at any moment. Slowly he sat down and stared at the golden object. It looked exactly the same as it used to.

He reached out for it and lay his hand on one side. Yugi yelped and pulled his hand back. Red lightning surrounded the Millennium Puzzle.

"That's odd."

Yugi's grandfather walked into his room and observed the phenomena.

"What do you think it is grandpa?"

"I have no idea to be honest, the fact that the Millennium Puzzle is back is remarkable by itself, but this..."

"There's a huge storm going on in Egypt and they found two men in the Pharaoh's tomb, maybe that is all related to the puzzle."

"That might be…"

"But why did it show up _here_?"

"That's the easiest question to be solved Yugi, this is the place where you first summoned Pharaoh Atem's spirit." "A more difficult question is _why_ did it show up here?"

"I wonder if the Pharaoh's spirit is in there again…" Yugi said more to himself then his grandfather.

"Impossible, it would take a very dark and powerful source to get a spirit out of the spirit world and capture it back into a Millennium Item."

Yugi didn't listen, instead he glared at the golden eye in the middle of the puzzle. His grandfather decided to contact the museum to see if they had more information that might help to solve this mystery.

**Back at school**

"What do you think was so important Yugi had to come home so bad?" Tristan asked.

"I hope it's nothing too serious…" Tea said worried.

"Eberytshing is probaablei fibe" Joey managed to get out of a mouth stuffed with meatloaf.

"Hey what's Bakura doing all sneaky?" Tristan asked nodding at the white haired boy standing in a corner.

The small boy held something covered underneath his jacket against his chest and looked around him. When he thought no one saw him, he disappeared into the men's room.

"Don't know but let's check it out." Joey said when he finally managed to swallow.

He and Tristan stood up and walked into the men's room. They didn't see anyone but the last toilet door was locked.

"Think he's in there?" Tristan whispered.

Both boys quietly walked to the last toilet. Joey kneeled down to see Bakura's shoes. Suddenly he saw a lot of red lightning, heard a yell and saw something gold hit the ground.

Joey screamed, jumped on his feet, grabbed Tristan's uniform and ran out of the men's room.

"What happened?" Tea asked worried.

"We were…I mean I saw…red lightning bolt things!" Joey ended dramatically.

"Did you see any red lightning bolt things?" Tea asked looking at Tristan.

"Nope."

"Well Yugi just called me, the Millennium Puzzle is back."

"What?" Both boys screamed as one.

"Ssshhh not so loud!" "He wants our advice."

"About what?" Joey asked.

"I don't know but it sounded very serious." "But how can we get out of the school without getting caught?"


	4. Chapter 4

"This wasn't your best idea Joey!"

"Shut up and just keep going will you!"

The two boys were crawling through the sewer of the school.

"Do you know where we are?" Tristan asked.

"Why do you ask me, you've got the map Tea made."

Tristan, who was crawling in front of Joey stopped instantly. Joey crashed against Tristan's behind.

"What?" the dark haired man asked.

"Yeah, Tea gave you her map, right?"

"No, she would give it to you!"

"No, the only thing she gave me was a paper to whip the meatloaf off my fa...oooh..."

"You idiot!"

**Back at Yugi's**

_Maybe I should try to call Atem's spirit...no better wait till the guys get here, maybe they have an idea. But what if he's really in there?_

Yugi kept staring at the golden puzzle for about an hour, still conflicted with his thoughts when he heard footsteps coming up the stairs.

"Here we are Yugi!" Joey said with a triumph filled voice.

Yugi thought he was going to throw up. Tristan and Joey were covered in a brown greenish gue that filled his room with a horrible stench.

"You stink!"

"Well we wouldn't if stupid here didn't wipe his mouth with the map of the school sewer!" Tristan said mad.

Joey was about to react but Yugi cut him off.

"I need your help guys, look."

The three walked to the desk and stared at the Millennium Puzzle.

"Did you try to see if there's someone in there?" Joey asked.

"I can't, when I touched it, red lightning came out of it."

"Hey we saw red lightning when we followed Bakura!" Tristan said.

Yugi gave him a confused look, so he and Joey explained.

"That mean's Bakura's got the Millennium Ring back!" Yugi said.

The door opened and Yugi's grandfather came in.

"Yugi, I'm afraid no one in the museum knew something"

Yugi sighed. "I was afraid of that..."

Suddenly Yugi's grandfather noticed Joey and Tristan.

"What are you two doing all filthy in my house!"

The three boys laughed, but Yugi's grandfather was being serious. He threw Joey and Tristan out with help of a broom. The rest of the day Yugi tried to forget about the puzzle, at least until he was sure what was going on with it. But somehow he caught himself sitting at his desk and staring at it. Finally it was bedtime. Yugi lay on his bed and stared through his window.

_I could try it on, just for a second...If I do it real fast, maybe I won't feel the lightning. _

Yugi slide out of his bed and walked to the desk. He stared at the Millennium Puzzle for a second, than he grabbed it and threw the necklace around his neck.


	5. Chapter 5

"_Yugi noooo!" The face of Atem appeared in front of him for a few seconds, than it was gone._

_Lots of red lightning bolts surrounded Yugi, but didn't hurt him. _

_Then, he was standing in a room made of rocks. It was empty except for a bed at the end of it. He slowly walked towards the bed. A man was lying on it and shivering heavily._

"_Are you okay?" _

_Yugi was now standing in front of the bed. He could see the sweat on the man's shoulders._

"_Can you hear me?" _

_Yugi touched the man's shoulders but pulled his arm back when red lighting stung through the nerves of his hand. This movement caused the man to turn on his back. Yugi gasped. The man lying in front of him, was Pharaoh Atem._

_At that moment he was surrounded by red lightning again. _

Yugi threw the Millennium Puzzle off his neck and backed up against the wall. He was breathing heavily and sweat was running off his fore head.

"Yugi, is everything alright?" His grandfathers voice sounded from the second floor.

"Yeah I'm fine, just fell out of bed that's all."

He fell on his bed and stared at the ceiling. What was he supposed to do now? Atem is back in the Millennium Puzzle and apparently was hurt. He needed someone's advice, but who could he ask about something like this? For hours Yugi tried to find a solution but finally he fell asleep.

The next morning wasn't so easy for Yugi. He had only gotten a couple hours of sleep. Slowly he walked down stairs.

"Good morning Yugi!" His grandfather said cheery. "We've got new Duel Monster cards, want to take a look?"

The old man was sitting on his knees next to a middle sized box and held a few cards in his hand.

"Nah thanks grandpa, I better go to school..."

His grandfather shot him a confused look. Normally his grandson would have been with his head in that box within seconds.

"Okay, well have a nice day at school."

"Thanks grandpa!"

Yugi walked down the street, but instead of taking the turn right, he went left. After walking on for about ten minutes, he was standing in front of the museum, where Tea, Tristan and Joey were already waiting for him.

"You're a little late Yugi, nothing for you to be late." Tristan said.

Tea immediately slapped him against his shoulder.

"He's been up for almost the entire night!" She said mad.

Yugi laughed. Last night, before he fell asleep, he called his friends and asked them to see him at the museum that morning.

"Why did you want to see us here Yugi?" Joey asked. "Is it about the Mill...Aauch!"

Both Tristan and Tea stepped on his foot.

"Why did you do that for?" Joey whispered mad.

"Nobody can know about this!" Tea whispered back.

They walked into the museum. There weren't a lot of people. The gang walked straight towards the Egyptian room. They all looked around to see if they were alone.

"Yes Joey, it is about the puzzle." Yugi said. "I put it on and I saw Atem."

"You mean the Pharaoh?" Tristan asked.

"Yes you're right sir, this is a statue of Pharaoh Azul."

Tristan almost jumped three meter into the sky. A thirty year old looking man stood behind them. He was wearing a suit with the museum's name on his shoulder.

Yugi looked at the statue the man was pointing at. The man was looking straight in front of him and had a kind of bossy impression.

"I've never seen this statue here before."

"I'm sure you haven't sir, see this statue is placed here recently." "It is found in a hidden tomb room just two days ago." "It took the museum lot of effort to get it here so quickly."

"Can you tell us something about him, Pharaoh Azul I mean?"

The man looked a bit confused at the shortest of the lot but then regained his machine like smile.

"Certainly sir, see Pharaoh Azul ruled Egypt until about 5080 years ago."

"How was he like?" Tea asked.

"From the looks of his old tomb, not the room this statue was found by the way, he was very mighty and used almost everyone in his kingdom as slaves." "But then, twenty years after he gained the title of Pharaoh, one man named Arratep took lead into a rebellion amongst almost all of Azuls slaves."

"Wow, how did that end?" Joey asked almost whispering.

"The slaves won." "Somehow Arratep knew a way to defeat Azul."

"Did Pharaoh Azul die?" Tea asked.

"No, apparently Arratep was known to be merciful." "He gained title of Pharaoh, given to him by the slaves and banished Azul out of his city." "People say that Azul swore he would be revenged by killing Arrateps grandson."

"And...did he?" Tristan asked.

"No one knows, in fact we have no registered evidence that there was a grandson of Arratep." "But of course, this part is only a myth."

The man greeted them and walked away.

"Wow...that was...weird." Joey said.

Yugi didn't respond but looked at the statue with a frown on his face.

"What's wrong Yugi?" Tea asked.

"I was thinking...what if this is Pharaoh Azul's revenge?"

"Okay, now you've lost me!" Tristan said throwing his hands in the air. "I thought that revenge stuff was only for the grandson of that Attarep?"

"Arratep!" Yugi, Tea and Joey said.

"Yeah that guy."

"Well, this might sound crazy but..."

"But what?" All of Yugi's friends asked him.

"I think Arratep's grandson is...Pharaoh Atem."


	6. Chapter 6

Marik Ishtar walked through the long dark corridors of his underground home. Ishizu left to get groceries from the market. Marik was heading towards his room at the end of the corridor, when he saw something in the corner of his eye. It was a blistering, a bright light shining for a second. He stopped and walked into the room where the light came from. His heart stopped when he entered the room. The Millennium Rod was lying on the exact same spot it always had until Marik stole it years ago.

_That's impossible, how did it get here?_

"Marik, where are you?"

Ishizu's voice. Suddenly Marik panicked.

_What if she thinks I found it? Maybe she'll think I mean bad with it..._

Marik dove towards the rod and wanted to grab it and hide it when red lightning came out of the rod and stung in his arm. He yelped and backed away at the moment Ishizu came in the room.

"Marik what are you do..."

She stopped talking when her eyes fell on the Millennium Rod.

"W...what is that doing here?" "And what's wrong with your arm?"

Marik was stroking his right arm with his left.

"I walked to my room and saw a blistering in this room and then I saw _it_ here and when I wanted to pick it up...red lightning came out of it and stung me."

He looked into his sisters eyes, praying she would believe him. But instead of saying anything she turned around and walked out of the room.

"Wait, what are you doing?"

"Checking on something."

Marik followed Ishizu to their parents old room. Ishizu knelt down in a corner of the room and removed some loose stones. She revealed a small wooden box with flowers carved in it.

"What is that?" Marik asked.

"It's mothers old jewellery box, but you were too young to remember..." Ishizu said.

She opened the box slowly. Both Marik and Ishizu gasped when they saw the Millennium Necklace. Ishizu brought her right hand till above the necklace and touched it with her fingertips. Red lightning came out of it and Ishizu brought her hand back, but did not yelp.

"So...does this mean that all the Millennium Items have returned?" the white haired boy asked.

"I think so..."

"We should contact Yugi."

Ishizu didn't respond but kept looking at the necklace with a frown.

"Hello, did you hear me?"

"Yes...yes I did."

She closed the box, picked it up and walked out of the room. Marik frowned too and followed her towards the room with the Millennium Rod.

"Here, take this." Ishizu said while she handed her brother the wooden box.

She took a blanket from a cabinet and covered the rod with it.

"This way it can't hurt us." "Go pack your stuff."

"Where are we going?"

"Domino City."


	7. Chapter 7

.

"Yugi, someone on the phone for you!"

Yugi groaned. It was eight o'clock in the evening and he was in his room, trying to do his homework. He stood up and walked downstairs.

"Who is it grandpa?"

"Some young lady wants to talk to you about your puzzle."

Yugi frowned and took the phone from his grandfather.

"Hello?"

_Yugi, it's Ishizu, I need to talk to you._

"Ishizu, what's going on?"

_I can't talk about it over the phone, but Marik and I are coming to Domino City tomorrow morning, is there a place where we can meet?_

"Uhm...well the museum I think."

_Okay, we'll meet you there at eleven o'clock, is that okay?_

"Okay, see you tomorrow then..."

Yugi hung up and scratched his head in confusion.

_How did she know about my puzzle?_

Suddenly there was a loud knocking on the door. Yugi watched through the window to see who it was. After that he unlocked the door. Joey and Tristan immediately ran in.

"Whoa thanks Yugi..." Tristan panted.

"What's wrong?" Yugi asked with a smirk.

"Well dumb head here was _sooo_ smart to duel a big guy from a motorcycle group." Tristan said.

"Hey how could I know I'd actually _win_?" Joey shot back.

"You are one of the best Duellists of the city Joey." Yugi said.

"Yeah well..."

The three of them went up to Yugi's room.

"I'm meeting Ishizu and Marik tomorrow morning in the museum." Yugi said as he sat on his bed.

"Who, that creepy guy that took control of me and tried to kill off that pharaoh during the Battle City Tournament?" Joey asked.

"Yeah but that was when he was influent by the Millennium Rod." Yugi said.

"We'll go with you." Tristan said, sensing why Yugi brought the thing up.

"Thanks guys."

"We'll ask Tea to come as well." Joey said.

They spend the rest of the evening talking about Joey's victory, making Yugi totally forget about his homework.


	8. Chapter 8

Yugi and his friends walked into the museum. It was as deserted as the last time.

"I don't hope we'll run into that creepy guy again..." Tristan whispered.

"Why are you whispering?" Tea asked.

"I don't want him to hear me!"

The four walked into the Egyptian section. It was a bit more crowded here. Especially near the statue of Pharaoh Azul. Yugi and the others walked around, searching for Ishizu and Marik. Finally he found them in a corner, behind another statue of the god Seth.

"Hello Yugi nice to see you again." Ishizu said.

"It's nice to see you two too." Yugi said.

He spotted the wooden box in Marik's hands and an object covered in a blanket in Ishizu's.

"Now what's going on?" Joey asked.

"Something's wrong with the Millennium Items." Marik said.

"Yeah we figured that out already."

"Joey!" Tea snapped.

"Are those...?" Yugi asked still looking at the objects.

"Yes, we found them at home." Ishizu said. "Now tell me Yugi, when you touch the Millennium Puzzle, does it release red lightning?"

Yugi looked at the blanket that covered the puzzle in his hands.

"Yeah it did."

"Tristan and I think we saw Bakura with the Millennium Ring." Joey said.

"I was afraid of this...it seems that all the items have returned to their owners."

"You think it has something to do with that creepy guy's story?" Tristan asked.

"Creepy guy's story?" Marik asked.

"An employee of the museum told us about the legend of Pharaoh Azul." Yugi said.

At that moment, Marik and Ishizu's eyes widened.

"Oh no...this is bad." Marik whispered.

"What's bad?" Joey asked.

"I believe that Pharaoh Atem is Pharaoh Arratep's grandson." Yugi said looking at Ishizu.

"That is what I think too." She said.

"There's only one way to find out." Marik said with his eyes on the blanket in Yugi's hands.

"Let's go to my house, we can't do it here." Yugi said.

Marik, Ishizu and Tea all nodded and followed Yugi to the exit of the Egyptian section, leaving Joey and Tristan alone.

"What...what was all that?" Joey asked while scratching his head in confusion.

"Well, obviously a dark power is messing around with the Millennium Items, the same that trapped the Pharaoh in the Millennium Puzzle, who is apparently the grandson of Pharaoh Arratep, the man that defeated a dictator 5080 years ago which is probably the same dark power I spoke about earlier and now the gang is going to try to summon Pharaoh Atem from the Millennium Puzzle to find out if he is indeed the grandson of Pharaoh Arratep."

Joey stared with open mouth and wide eyes at his friend.

"At least...that's what I got out of it." Tristan said while rubbing the back of his nose.

"Let's just go to the Game Shop, okay?"

Both boys walked to the exit of the museum, but didn't notice someone had been listening to them while looking at a glass cabinet with bones in it and that that someone now walked after them.


	9. Chapter 9

It was quiet in the living room of Grandpa Motou. Yugi was standing in the middle of it, while everyone else were sitting around him. He was staring at the blanket that was covering the puzzle.

"Yugi, it's time." Ishizu said with a calm voice, sensing the nervousness of the teenager.

With a large sigh, Yugi removed the blanket and touched the gold.

_Yu-Gi-Oh!_

His friends watched how the Millennium Puzzle shined and Yugi changed into Pharaoh Atem. A lot of red lightning surrounded him and everyone had to put their hands in front of their eyes. When the shining light disappeared, the red lightning became weaker. Pharaoh Atem was standing in front of them. He looked awful. He was still surrounded by the weak lightning.

"Pharaoh, are you alright?" Tea asked.

Instead of answering, he fell on his knees and groaned. Sweat was running off his fore head. All his friends and grandpa Motou rushed to his side.

"What's wrong with you?" Tea asked worried.

"A...a c...curse..." Atem managed to get out.

Joey, Tristan and Marik hauled him on the couch.

"What curse?" Grandpa Motou asked.

"Is it the curse of Pharaoh Azul?" Ishizu asked.

Atem shake his shoulders which made more red lightning appear around his arms. He took a painful face.

"Can you tell us what happened, how you got into the Millennium Puzzle I mean?" Marik asked with a serious face.

Atem waited until the red lightning became weaker before he spoke.

"I...was in the spirit world with the others spirits." "S...suddenly we heard a voice...calling out a ritual." "I didn't know w...what kind of ritual it was..."

Ishizu and Marik gave each other a nod, but didn't interrupt the Pharaoh.

"Then the voice stopped and everything went dark." "And I...I was alone." "Then...red lightning surrounded me and... the Millennium Puzzle appeared in front of me only it was huge and it sucked me in it..."

"That's when you started to feel like this?" Grandpa Motou asked.

Atem nodded and groaned again. Then he closed his eyes and passed out.

Marik sighed and ran his hands through his hair. Ishizu looked to the ground with a worried face. Joey looked at both of them.

"Do you know more than we do?"

Marik shot a look at his sister, who gave a nod.

"Well...everything the Pharaoh told us matches with what we already feared, the return of Pharaoh Azul."

"In order to bring a spirit back to life, you have to perform the ritual first." Ishizu explained by seeing all the confused faces around her.

"A...and he's the one that brought back the Millennium Items?" Tristan asked.

The two Ishtars nodded.

"And he wants to kill Atem." Tea said while looking at the man lying in the couch.

"How can we stop him?" Joey asked.

"We can't." Marik said.

"Only a blood relevant of Pharaoh Arratep can stop him." Ishizu said.


	10. Chapter 10

"Wow…" Yugi sighed.

He was sitting in the couch on which Atem lay a few minutes ago. His friends had told him everything. He was looking at the Millennium Puzzle, which was now covered in the blanket.

"We have another problem." Marik said. "We don't know where the other Items are."

"That's not entirely true." Grandpa Muto said.

Everyone looked at him.

"The puzzle showed up on the exact same spot Yugi completed it." "And I believe that you found your items on the same place too?" He asked looking at the two Ishtars.

"That's right." Ishizu said.

"And we saw Bakura with the Millennium Ring at school!" Tristan said.

"So...that would mean that Pegasus has the Millennium Eye?" Tea asked.

"And Shadi the Scales and Key." Yugi said.

"We have to collect them before Pharaoh Azul lays hand on them." Marik said.

"But...I thought Azul was a spirit?" Tea asked.

"He is, but someone has performed a ritual to get him out of the dark side of the spirit-world." Ishizu said. "And it is sure that Pharaoh Azul wants the Millennium Items to absorb it's powers."

"So he has a helper who has to collect the items for him?" Joey asked.

"That's right." Marik said.

Suddenly Joey heard something outside of the window. He turned around and looked but didn't see anything. At that moment the bell of the shop rang.

"I'll get it." Yugi said while he stood up.

He really needed a break from all the guessing and problems. He walked through the kitchen into the shop. His eyes widened when he saw who was standing in front of him.

"P...Pegasus?"

"Hello Yugi, nice to see you again." Pegasus said.

"What are you doing here?"

"Well I think you can guess that I am not here to buy any Duel Monster cards from you."

The man walked around the desk and looked at some cards that were in the glass cabinets. After a few seconds his eye went to Yugi's neck. Yugi could tell from his surprised look, he'd expected to see the Millennium Puzzle.

"If you're not here to buy, what then?"

Pegasus slid towards the desk and looked Yugi close in the eyes.

"You know why I am here Yugi Muto, it's back and I know yours is too!"

At that sentence, Pegasus removed his hair and revealed the Millennium Eye. It was surrounded by red lightning.

"I think it is better if you removed that eye mister Pegasus." Ishizu's voice sounded.

Yugi turned around and saw her standing just behind him.

"Who are you?" Pegasus asked not all too nicely.

"My name is Ishizu Ishtar."

"You'd better listen to her." Yugi said.

Pegasus looked from Ishizu back to Yugi, obviously struggling with what to do.

"You came here because you want to get rid of the pain that's been caused by your Millennium Eye and we are going to help you but only if you listen!" Yugi shouted.

Pegasus took a few steps back, surprised by Yugi's outburst.

"O...okay, I'll listen." He whispered.


	11. Chapter 11

**Authors Note:  
I have only seen half the episodes of Duellist Kingdom so I don't know the story line exactly. In this chapter Yugi still has the God Cards and Pegasus doesn't know about Atem's existence. **

"I don't trust him." Joey said.

Pegasus was in the bathroom to remove the Millennium Eye.

"I don't either but we need the Millennium Eye, so keep it down alright?" Yugi asked.

"Okay, but only because of you and the Pharaoh..."

"Can't you just call him Atem?" Yugi asked.

"Yeah...I guess."

Pegasus walked into the living room and sat down next to Tristan.

"Well?" Yugi asked.

Pegasus held out his left hand with on it the Millennium Eye. Tristan shrilled and moved away from Pegasus.

"Uh...you did wash that thing, right?"

Pegasus didn't answer but looked at Yugi, who was about to grab the eye, but then Pegasus closed his hand.

"First you tell me what you know."

Yugi distinctly looked at Marik and Ishizu. To his relief, Marik took over.

"Egypt is in danger sir."

The man's eye went from Yugi, who was sitting opposite of him, to his left to face Marik's purple ones.

"In danger?"

"Yes, no doubt you have heard about the terrible hurricanes."

"I did, but I didn't know it was relative to my Millennium Eye."

"There is something evil playing with Egypt and the Items." Marik said. "And the only way to stop it, is collecting the Items before it falls into the wrong hands."

During the last seven words of his sentence, he looked at the ground and rubbed his nose.

"We are very happy that you are willing to cooperate mister Pegasus." Ishizu filled in for him.

"Cooperate, who ever said I was in to this madness?"

Pegasus stood up fiercely.

"You have no choice, if you don't help us, not only Egypt but the entire world is in danger." Marik said.

"Why do _I_ have to help?" Pegasus asked.

"You invented Duel Monsters, the game based on the Shadow Games." Tea said getting mad.

"So what?"

"So you're the guy that we need!" Joey said.

"Yeah you're the expert in this game so we need you to defeat that Pharaoh Azul." Tristan said.

Except for Pegasus's, everyone's eyes widened and looked at Tristan. When he was in the bathroom, everyone agreed they wouldn't tell Pegasus about Azul.

"Woops..."

"P...Pharaoh...Azul?"

Pegasus sat down with a shocked face.

"You've heard about him?" Yugi asked.

"Of course..." "He is the most powerful and dark spirit of the Shadow Realm."

"I thought he was in the spirit world?" Joey asked confused.

"The Shadow Realm is the dark side of the spirit world." Ishizu explained.

"If I would decide to join you into this, again pure madness, what would my role be and more important, my reward?"

Yugi frowned. Pegasus got over his fear of Pharaoh Azul really quick.

"You want the God cards!"

A glistering passed his eye.

"Yugi, you insult me."

"You'll get a reward worth your efforts sir" Marik said. "About your role, we need you to train Pharaoh Atem in Duel Monsters."

"Train who?"

"The spirit that lives inside the Millennium Puzzle." Yugi said.

"I knew it, I knew it wasn't you duelling during the Duellist Kingdom!" "All this time I thought it was you, empowered by the power of the Shadow Realm, but it was someone else!"

"Yeah yeah old news, now are you going to help or not?" Joey waved away Pegasus's enthusiasm.

"Why do I have to train the person who defeated me in my own game?"

The others looked at each other. Suddenly Pegasus's eye widened.

"Oh no...Pharaoh Azul's revenge..." "But that's impossible, the curse only affects Pharaoh Arratep's...unless..."

He stared at the blanket that held the Millennium Puzzle.

"Oh no..."


	12. Chapter 12

"Now what was I supposed to do again?" Pegasus sighed.

He was sitting at the kitchen table, opposite to Yugi. Between them were two playfields and two decks.

"The only thing you have to do is duel Atem." Yugi said.

"I don't really see the point in this all..."

"Atem needs to practise how to duel while he is under the curse." Tea said. "Otherwise he can never defeat Azul."

"Now okay, let's get over this." Pegasus sighed.

_Yu-Gi-Oh!_

Tea and Pegasus closed their eyes. A few minutes later, Yugi was gone and Atem was sitting in his chair. Like before, red lightning surrounded him. Atem held his eyes closed for a few seconds.

"Wh...what are you doing here?" He asked with a terrible voice.

"He's here to help you." Tea said.

_**She's right Atem. You're the only one that can stop Pharaoh Azul, but you have to learn how to duel while you're under that curse. **_

Atem shake his head. Even hearing Yugi's voice made his head feel like it would burst.

"Okay I understand." Atem said.

Tea took a chair from the corner and sat on the side of the table.

"Now, I'll begin." Pegasus said.

He quickly drew six cards. Atem brought his hand to his deck but even this small movement brought him in pain.

_This is going to be more painful then I imagined!_

He tried to ignore the pain and drew five cards.

"First I'll put one card face down on the Spell/Trap zone and then I'll put my Twin Headed Dragon in attack position." Pegasus said. "And end my turn."

Atem drew another card and flinched as little sparks of red danced on his fingers. He looked at his cards and noticed his hand was shaking slightly.

"I...I'll put my Beaver Warrior in defence and...and end my turn."

"Come on Yugi...I mean Atem, surely you have better moves than that."

Suddenly Joey walked into the kitchen.

"Hey Tea, me and Tristan are going to school to find Bakura and the Millennium Ring." "Ishizu made me ask you to join us, apparently she's afraid that we'll mess up or something..."

"Can't she or Marik go with you?" Tea asked.

"No they're heading back to the museum to find the guy that has the other two items."

"Okay, I'll go with you, you think you'll be okay?"

"Of course, we'll only be playing Duel Monsters the whole time." Pegasus said.

Tea looked at Atem, who nodded.

"Okay, let's go."

She and Joey left the kitchen and soon after that they heard the front door closing.

"I don't see why she would be worried, after all we're not kids anymore." "Now for my second turn I lay down the Spell card called Toon World." "And thanks to that card I can lay down the Toon Mermaid." "I won't attack your weak Beaver Warrior right away, so it's your turn again."

Atem drew another card. He could barely look at his hand. All the cards were just blurring images. The pain just got too worse.

_I can never get through this! It's just too much!_

_**No you can do this Atem, you have to! It's the only chance you've got...we've got.**_

_Yugi is right, I have to do this for my friends, for the entire world!_

"I...I lay down the Summoned Skull...and destroy your Toon World with my De-Spell."

"Now that's the Yugi I know."

Atem didn't bother to correct the name. He was more focused on not falling off the chair.

"And I attack your Twin Headed Dragon with Summoned Skull."

"Bravo Yugi." "Unfortunately you forgot about my face down card that I lay down my first turn."

Pegasus picked the card up and showed it to his opponent. It was Mirror Force. Atem removed his Beaver Warrior and Summoned Skull to the Graveyard.

Suddenly there was a huge noise coming from the living room. Pegasus and Atem threw their cards on the table. Pegasus ran out of the kitchen fast, but Atem could nearly stand on his feet.

_Yugi, you'll have to take over! Yugi? Yugi can you hear me?_

Panic filled Atem's head as Yugi didn't respond.


	13. Chapter 13

_**Calm down Atem I'm right here! You're panicking! **_

One moment later, Atem was gone and it was Yugi who ran after Pegasus. Halfway he had to throw the Millennium Puzzle off his neck cause it was hurting him. The front door was crashed open and the hallway was ruined. Yugi ran to the living room to find Pegasus. But there was someone else too. A man dressed in a suit was standing in the middle of the room. His face was covered under a mask. He was holding the wooden box with the Millennium Necklace and the blanket that held the Millennium Rod.

"Who are you?" Yugi asked.

The man didn't answer but bolted between Yugi and Pegasus. Pegasus lost his balance and fell down, Yugi however managed to keep on his feet and followed quickly. The man was already on the street.

"Hey get back here!"

Of course, the man didn't respond and soon Yugi had lost him out of sight.

_Oh no this is bad, where did that guy come from? Atem? Oh no the puzzle!_

Yugi turned around and ran back to his house. He was very relieved to find his puzzle on the ground in the hallway. He covered his hands with his jacket before he picked it up.

"Pegasus, are you alright?"

Yugi walked into the living room to find Pegasus sitting on his knees.

"He's got my Eye as well..."

"Yugi, are you home?" His grandfather's voice sounded.

"I'm here!"

His grandfather walked into the living room.

"What happened?" He asked confused.

"Someone broke in and stole three Millennium Items."

"Oh dear, but...the puzzle?"

"Still here." Yugi said while he gently stroke the object in his hands.

"Who could it been?" Pegasus asked.

"Someone who knew about the Items and that they were here." Yugi said.

"This isn't good..." Grandfather Muto muttered.

**Author's Note:  
A short one, I know, next one will be longer **


	14. Chapter 14

"Where could he be?" Joey asked.

They were walking around inside the school for an hour now.

"Maybe he's gone home?" Tea asked.

"No, we're supposed to have lunch break now." Tristan said. "He has to be here somewhere..."

"THERE HE IS!" Joey screamed pointing at someone with white hair. "Oh...no that's our science teacher..."

"Okay let's split up." Tristan said while scratching his head.

"I'll take the school yard." Tea said.

She turned around and headed to the exit.

"I'm taking the gym." Tristan said.

He headed the other way.

"So...guess I'll take the rest of the school then..." Joey sighed.

He kept walking through the corridor. Dark clouds gathered in front of the sun, excluding all the light from the corridor.

_Huh...it's kinda spooky, walking through the corridor all by yourself. Never thought I'd be scared at school for anything except my grades._

Suddenly he heard something. Joey stopped to listen. It looked a lot like someone was grinning. Then he heard footsteps emerging behind him.

"Waaah!" He screamed frightened when he turned around.

But there was nothing to be seen.

_O my god, I'm going nuts! Better find Tristan or Tea... or any living soul. _

"Joey..."

_Huh?_

"Is someone here?"

He walked pass the classrooms and checked them. There was no one...

"Jooooeeeyyy..."

He felt the shivers crawling up his back.

"W...who is there?"

He was surprised about how shrill his voice sounded.

"I warn you, I'm a Duellist!"

"I know you are..."

_Okay I'm outta here!_

Joey turned around with the thought to get to the gym to find Tristan. But before he could take one step, his eyes caught something on the end of the dark corridor. A figure was staring at him. Two dark eyes shined dangerously.

"W...who...who are you?" Joey stuttered.

"You know who I am Joey Wheeler."

"B...Bakura?" Joey said with a voice similar to Tea's.

"Close, but not right."

The figure slowly walked towards the blonde Duellist. Something gold shined around his neck.

"Hey, how come yours doesn't have the red lightning?" Joey asked surprised and totally forgetting about his fear.

Yami Bakura laughed evilly.

"I'm not going to waste my time, a fool like you wouldn't understand it anyway."

"Hey watch it!"

"A big mouth for someone standing all alone."

"I'm not alone, I've got..."

"Tea and Tristan?" "I don't think so."

"What?" "What did you do to them you white haired freak?"

Yami Bakura grinned evilly. The same grin Joey heard before.

"You'll find out soon enough."


	15. Chapter 15

"Do you really think Shadi will be here?" Marik asked.

He and his sister were in the museum, in the Egyptian section to be exact.

"For the fourth time, no I am not sure but this is the most obvious place." Ishizu said.

"That's true..."

Marik walked around a glass cabinet but was walked over by someone. He hit the ground hard.

"Hey watch it!"

But the man was already gone.

"What happened?" Ishizu asked when she helped her little brother up.

"Some guy just walked over me!" "Hey what's this?"

He picked up a mask.

"Could you see the man's face?" Ishizu asked.

"No not really, only his eyes." "They were very dark."

"I don't have a good feeling about this." Ishizu said while looking at the mask in Marik's face. "Let's see if we can find him."

"Well he went that way." Marik said pointing towards the statue of Pharaoh Azul.

His phone rang. He looked at who the caller was.

"Hey it's Yugi."

Marik picked up and set it on speaker.

"Marik, it's Yugi, we've got a huge problem!"

"What's wrong?"

"The Rod, Eye and Necklace are stolen."

"What, how could that happen?"

"More important, have you seen who it was?" Ishizu asked.

"No the man wore a mask." Yugi said.

Marik and Ishizu looked at each other.

"Uh Yugi...we think we know where he is." Marik said.

"How can you know that?" Yugi asked surprised.

He stood in the kitchen while Pegasus and his grandfather were cleaning up in the living room.

"Just come to..."

"Marik, are you still there?" Yugi asked concerned.

A lot of weird noises came through the phone. Suddenly someone spoke, but it wasn't Marik or Ishizu.

"Yugi Muto, come to the museum."

The voice was very low and raspy.

"Hey who is this?" "Why would I listen to you?"

"You'd better if you want to see any of your friends again." "Bring your Millennium Puzzle with you."

The connection was cut off. Yugi put the phone down and walked to the living room.

"And what did the Ishtars say?" His grandfather asked.

"Uhm... they want me to meet them in the museum."

"O, well you better be off then."

Yugi nodded, picked up his puzzle from the couch and went outside.

_I don't know what this is about, but there's one thing I know for sure, no one hurts my friends as long as I live!_


	16. Chapter 16

The Egyptian section was deserted. It was almost as if the museum had closed it. All the lights were out.

"Where are you?" Yugi asked loud.

His voice sound hollow, just like his footsteps. Yugi instantly walked to the statue of Pharaoh Azul.

_It has something to do with you. Well whatever it is, I'm ready for it!_

Suddenly he heard footsteps behind him. Yugi turned around to see an employee from the museum approaching him.

"Excuse me sir, have you seen my friends, one boy with white hair and a taller girl with black hair, both a little tanned?"

When the man came closer, Yugi recognised him as the same employee that told him and his friends the story about Pharaoh Azul. Suddenly Yugi started have doubts. How could the man know so many about Azul and Arratep but not know that Atem is the Nameless Pharaoh?

Yugi turned around with the thought of running away when he saw someone was blocking his way.

"Long time no seen Yugi Muto."

"Yami Bakura!"

The employee was now standing on the other side. Yugi was trapped.

"Give me your Millennium Puzzle boy." The employee said.

"Where are my friends?"

"Everything in time, now your puzzle."

Yugi looked at the hand the employee was holding out. There was no way he would give up his puzzle. Unfortunately Yami Bakura made the choice for him. He grabbed the boy by the shoulders and the employee snatched the blanket covered puzzle out of Yugi's hands.

"Hey!" Yugi shouted.

Yami Bakura threw Yugi to the ground.

"Now where's my reward?" Yami Bakura asked.

"Reward?" the employee asked.

"Yeah you promised me Azul's treasure if I got Muto here for you."

"Oh yes, you're right."

The employee muttered some indistinct words and suddenly the Millennium Ring was covered in red lightning.

"Aaaah, what...what is this?" Yami Bakura asked.

"Your reward."

Yami Bakura fell on the ground, unconsciously. The employee ducked and took the Ring from him. The lightning was gone.

"Who are you and why are you doing this?" Yugi asked.

The employee chuckled.

"My name is Uman." "I am a treasure seeker from Egypt."

"No, you're an employee from the museum."

"No Yugi Muto, that was a lie." "A lie necessary to find the whereabouts of the Millennium Items."

"Why do you want them?"

"You ask a lot of questions." "But that's alright, I like to tell someone about my genius plan." "You see, not many people know about Pharaoh Azul." "He was Pharaoh, a mighty ruler." "My family served him with their lives." "But thanks to that slave Arratep, the Pharaoh was banned and so was my family!"

"You were the one that performed the ritual in the spirit world!" Yugi said mad.

"That's right." "I released the spirit of Pharaoh Azul from the Shadow Realm." "But I need all the Millennium Items to get him back into this world." "And thanks to you Yugi, I know have all seven items."

"No you don't!" Yugi screamed triumphal. "Shadi still has the Scales and Key!"

Uman chuckled again.

"Shadi was no match for my Dark Magic, he is locked up in the Shadow Realm for a while now." "But enough chatter, it's time to summon Pharaoh Azul so he can rule the world once again with me on his side!"


	17. Chapter 17

Yugi watched as Uman walked towards the statue of Pharaoh Azul. He took a small book from the inside pocket of his jacket and searched several moments to find the right page. Then he started to talk in a weird language. Yugi figured it had to be Egyptian.

Suddenly the statue split in half and opened, like a mummy's coffin. Dark clouds emerged.

"Ready to go into the Shadow Realm, Yugi Muto?"

Uman chuckled evilly and stepped into the darkness. Yugi quickly stood up and followed the Egyptian man. The dark clouds gathered around the small boy as he ran deeper and deeper into the Shadow Realm. He had lost Uman.

_Where is he? I need to find him, that guy's got my friends and the items! But...where am I? _

Suddenly he hit something with his face and fell down. When he looked up, his heart stopped. Pharaoh Azul was towering above him. He had the same dark eyes as Uman but they shined more evilly. His black hair was tied into a little ponytail in his neck and he had a crown around his fore head with the same eye on it as on the Millennium Puzzle.

"Are you the grandson of Arratep?"

Yugi thought that Azul's voice would be low and evil like, but it sounded normal and kind.

"N...no my name is Yugi."

"My Pharaoh!"

Yugi looked behind him. Uman was speed walking towards them. He fell at Azul's feet.

"It does me great pleasure to see you oh Pharaoh!" "I have gathered slaves for you."

Yugi watched in horror as he saw how his friends came out of the darkness. They were wrapped around the dark clouds and also unconscious.

"Do you have the items?"

Obviously Azul wasn't interested in the floating bodies

"Yes Pharaoh."

"Then what are you waiting for?"

Uman's face went red for a moment.

"Of course my Pharaoh, thousand times sorry."

_Wow that creep really wants to keep Azul pleased. _

He watched as Uman somehow summoned the items out of nowhere and let them float in front of him. Azul closed his eyes and raised his arms, ready to enter the mortal world. Uman searched through his spell book again and started to talk Egyptian.

The Millennium Items started to shake and red lightning came out of all of them. Yugi saw only one chance.

"Waaaah!" He screamed as he ran towards the items.

He closed his eyes, leaped, his arms spread out as far as he could. Yugi felt how his fingertips touched something. Suddenly everything was covered in white light and red lightning. Azul and Uman closed their eyes and screamed mad. Azul opened his eyes.

"What, that's impossible!"

Pharaoh Atem stood in front of them. He was holding the Millennium Puzzle. Both were covered in red lightning.

"Nothing is impossible for the pure heart." Atem said.

"You!" "You are Arrateps grandson." "You have to be, you look almost the same!"

Azul's voice wasn't that normal or kind anymore. It was high pitched and a bit frantic.

"Nothing to worry my Pharaoh, you can beat him, you are the most powerful..."

"Shut it you fool!"

Uman seemed to shrink when Azul shouted at him. He kneeled to the ground and put his chin on his chest. Atem saw the panic that raged in Azul's dark eyes.

"I thought you'd be crushed by the power of my virus by now." Azul almost whispered. "I guess I'll have to defeat you the same way your grandfather defeated me."

He started to laugh hysterically.

"That way will be more suited anyway."

Pharaoh Azul raised his arms. The ground between them began to shake and than burst open. It was a black hole and it was impossible to see the end of it.

"Are you ready to feel my revenge, Pharaoh Atem?"


	18. Chapter 18

"What is this?" Atem asked.

"I'm surprised that you don't know." Azul said. "This isn't your first visit to the Shadow Realm, is it?"

"Just explain!"

The virus was hurting him and he didn't want to waste time. Pharaoh Azul grinned.

"Of course, I forgot about your little situation here." "The monsters in the game...Duel Monsters isn't it...come to life in the Shadow Realm."

"I already know that!"

"Yes but you don't know that more than 5000 years ago the Shadow Game was only meant to be played by servants."

Atem looked confused but Azul immediately explained.

"Of course the Pharaohs and Priests gave the orders, but it were the servants that played the game for them." "Egypt couldn't risk losing its Pharaoh."

"What do you mean by lose?"

Azul laughed hard and evilly.

"You'll soon see what I mean." "Now let's Duel!"

A play board appeared in front of both Pharaoh's, but the abyss remained in the middle of them. Both of them reached for their decks and put them on their board.

"I'll begin." Azul said.

He drew six cards. A grin showed on his face.

"I place my FlameSwordsmanon the field in attack mode."

"What, Flame Swordsman?"

"That's right."

Atem waited, somehow expecting to see the hologram appear. Something else happened. The Flame Swordsman came out of the abyss and landed on a small piece of cloud.

_How did he get that card. There's no way he could have the same card as Joey. _

"Something wrong Pharaoh Atem?" "It's your turn."

Atem drew his sixth card.

"I place the Guardian of the Fortress in defence mode."

A low cry sounded from the abyss. Atem watched as his blue dragon landed on a piece of cloud of its own and lay down.

"And I place one card face down."

A cloud rose from the abyss and hovered behind the dragon. Azul looked at it with one raised eyebrow while he drew his card.

"I don't think I have to worry about that." He said.

He too placed one card face down.

"Flame Swordsman, attack the Guardian of the Fortress!"

Atem watched as the monsters blade cut his dragon. Normally the hologram would disappear, but the dragon fell into the abyss.

"Aaaah!"

He felt a burning pain in his left arm. A deep cut appeared.

"This is what I meant, Pharaoh Atem." "This is why the Pharaoh's and Priest's let others duel for them."


	19. Chapter 19

**Hey everyone, just wanted to introduce you to my Yami. **

_Arwen: Finally, you have me for what, two weeks? Well guys, I'm Arwen. _

**I know, I know, sorry.**

_Arwen: *sigh* Well go on with the story already!_

_This is why the Pharaoh's and Priest's let others duel for them._

That sentence kept going on in Atem's head. Something wasn't right about it.

"It's your turn Pharaoh Atem."

Atem sighed before drawing. The virus was getting stronger and stronger. He frowned when he saw the card. It was the trap card Shift. He looked at his hand. Panic started to invade his head.

_There's no way I can beat him. He has a too big advantage..._

_**Don't say that!**_

_Yugi?_

_**We've been in this sort situations before, like the time we beat Pegasus. We can do it again! Just believe in yourself and the cards.**_

_Your right...I can't give up_

"Well, what keeps you so long, Pharaoh Atem?"

Atem looked up. There it was again. The feeling like something didn't fit in that sentence.

"I'll put one card face down." "And put one card face down in defence mode."

Atem groaned and tensed his muscles as his hand was covered in red lightning. A grin showed on Azul's face.

"Running scared, Pharaoh?" "The fact you barely can remain standing isn't that helpful, is it Pharaoh?"

Suddenly it hit him. A memory from 5000 years ago came rushing back. He was just a kid, sitting on a wooden chair with his father in front of him. He was telling him something, but he couldn't understand the words.

_What did you tell me father...if I could only remember..._

"For my turn, I place the Red Eyes Black Dragon in attack mode."

Atem's eyes widened.

"Think you can beat that, Pharaoh Atem?"

Atem closed his eyes, determined to remember. If only that virus wouldn't hurt him so much...

_Only a former Pharaoh can call the present Pharaoh by his name. All the others must answer by Pharaoh. Keep that in mind Atem._

"My Red Eyes, attack!"

"You are not Pharaoh Azul!"

Everything stopped. All the noise was gone, as was the Duel Stage. It were only the two duellists.

"What did you say, Pharaoh Atem?"

"I said...you are not Pharaoh Azul." Atem said panting.

The other man didn't respond but just stared at Atem.

_**But..if he is not Azul, who is he?**_

_Tell me Yugi, when you entered the Shadow Realm, who did you follow?_

_**No one, I mean Uman let me in but I lost him out of sight.**_

_Exactly._

"You are Pharaoh Azul's servant!"

"That's a lie Pharaoh Atem!"

"Oh is it, then why are you referring me with Pharaoh by your every line?"

The man's face whitened rapidly. Suddenly clapping sounded.

"Very clever Atem." "You got on to our little switch trick sooner than I thought."

A second Azul emerged from the clouds at the same place Uman had disappeared earlier.

"F...forgive me...my Pharaoh..."

"Stop your wining Uman." Azul said.

He made a swing with his hand and Uman returned to his own looks.

"S...so are you Duelling, my Pharaoh?"

"NO YOU FOOL!"

For a moment Uman just stared at Azul, but regained his voice.

"My Pharaoh is right, better not take the risk."

Azul's eyes looked like there could emerge flames out of them any second now. Atem on the other hand began to smile.

"What are you laughing at?" Azul asked mad.

"Your Pharaoh is not afraid to Duel me." Atem said looking at Uman. "The reason he can't Duel me is because if two Pharaoh's use the Shadow Game at each other, the first one to make an attack will perish." "That's probably the reason for your little switch trick."

Now Azul began to laugh evilly.


	20. Chapter 20

_Arwen: Ah such dilemma a writer can have. (grins evilly)_

_Hey you're supposed to help me! Like Atem helps Yugi with his duels...right?_

_Arwen: Nah...just flip a coin or something._

_What? I'm not going to flip a coin to decide what to do with my story!_

_Arwen: Okay okay, relax. Just start writing and decide about the end later._

_*two huge sighs*_

"That's not the only reason for our trick." Azul said.

Atem frowned.

_**This doesn't sound very well...**_

_I know..._

"See, during your little Duel, I have performed some magic of my own, without a magic card that is."

He laughed at his own little joke.

"And what might that be?"

"I wouldn't be too eager to find out if I were you." Azul said with a dark voice.

The evil Pharaoh made some gestures with his hands. The Millennium Items, except the puzzle, which was still around Yugi's neck, appeared in front of him. They were still covered in red lightning.

_**He can't do anything against us, we still have the Millennium Puzzle.**_

_I'm not so sure about that Yugi._

"I wouldn't be too sure too Yugi."

"What?"

"Oh...did I ruin your little conversation?" "I have been listening to you two the whole time." "Let's not waste any more time shall we?"

Azul began to speak in Egyptian again, Atem could have understand him, but he was speaking too quickly. Suddenly the Millennium Items, including the puzzle, turned red.

"Aaaah!"

Atem fell on his hands and knees. The purple of his eyes slowly turned red.

_**What's happening?**_

_I...I don't know...but...it hurts!_

"Pretty painful, isn't it Atem?"

"W...what are you...doing?"

Azul smirked.

"I am using the power of all the Millennium Items so that I can get back to the mortal world." "And as you are a spirit that belongs in the puzzle, your power is drained as well." "So I am getting my revenge and will rule over the mortal world!"

_This is it...it's over. I can't stand this!_

_**No hang on! You have to! I believe in you! **_

The red lightning surrounded Atem. He was shaking and sweat was running off his forehead. The sound of Azul laughing penetrated his thoughts. Suddenly that laugh turned into a scream of disbelief and madness. Uman joined his Pharaoh. The lightning disappeared and Atem's eyes went back to normal. With his last strength, Atem looked up. The Millennium Items had their gold colour back and Shadi stood in front of Azul and Uman.

"H...how did you get free?" Azul asked.

"Your dark magic on the Items strengthen my powers to protect them." "And now you will pay for what you have done."

Shadi used his powers to shot a spell towards Azul. Azul, however, grabbed Uman by his shirt and pulled the servant in front of him. Uman screamed before he was placed in the same prison Shadi just got out. Atem stood up. It got dizzy in his head, but he managed to stay on his feet.

"This cannot be!"Azul screamed. "I have all the Items under my control, you stand nowhere!"

"That is not true." Shadi said.

"What?"

"You haven't got all the Millennium Items under your control, as there is an eighth Millennium Item."

"You're lying!" "I was there when they were first brought to the temple in Kul Elna!"

"Yes you have seen seven Items, but not the last one as I took it right after it was made."

"But I have taken all your Millennium Items."

"The eight item isn't in my possession for a long time."

Azul's face was in pure panic. His face was white and his dark eyes had lost their dangerous spark.

_**An eighth Millennium Item...who would have thought of that?**_

Atem didn't respond. He needed all his concentration to stay conscious.

Shadi prepared another spell, but Azul was too fast for him. The former Pharaoh had already cast a spell in Egyptian and with a _bang_ he was gone.

Joey, Tristan, Tea, Marik and Ishizu were released and opened their eyes. Marik and Ishizu immediately left to Shadi's side.

"Woah...what happened?" Tristan asked.

"I don't know, it's like I've been sleeping for a while." Tea said.

"Hey there's Yugi...or that Pharaoh." Joey said.

"He doesn't look so good..." Tristan said.

The three of them stood up and ran to their friend.

"Pharaoh, are you alright?" Tea asked.

"I have felt better." Atem admitted.

Marik, Ishizu and Shadi walked to them.

"What happened?" Joey asked.

"Pharaoh Azul tried to use the Millennium Items to get back to the mortal world." Atem said.

"Well where is he now, did you beat him with a duel?" Tristan asked looking around.

"He is gone, vanished by his own dark magic." Shadi said.

"So...he can come back?" Tea asked.

"Yes, but that is not the thing to focus on right now." Ishizu said. "The eighth item is most important."

"First it is time to leave this dark place and for the Pharaoh to rest." Shadi said.

He closed his eyes and clapped his hands. Suddenly Atem felt drowsy. He tried to keep his eyes open, but failed.

Yugi opened his eyes. He was back in his room. The sun shined through his window. The boy sat up and looked at his clock. It was ten o' clock.

_**Atem, are you there?**_

_Yes Yugi. _

_**Are you alright? I mean...was it a dream or...**_

_No it was not a dream and I am recovering. We need to locate the eighth Millennium Item before Azul does. _

_**Yeah...I can't believe it, an eighth Millennium Item.**_

_I can't believe it either, but it exists..._

_**THE END!**_

_Arwen: Well not really of course...you've got to write a sequel. _

_O my lords you're right...but I suck at sequels! What do I do now?_

_Arwen: That's true, you suck at sequels, but that was before you got me. _

_So you'll help me?_

_Yeah...got nothing else to do anyway._

_Thanks!_


End file.
